語学学校のKaplan International English（カプラン・インターナショナル・イングリッシュ）に来ると、集中、且つ意欲的な英語教育が受けられるんだ。しかもたくさんの先生とスタッフが助けてくれる。日本語と英語はすごく違うので、最も良い学び方はネイティブスピーカーが言うことをコピーする事。言葉やフレーズの意味を理解しようとするよりも、その言葉やフレーズが使われた状況にもっと注意を払うといいよ。文法についても同じだよ。英語には多くの異なる時制があって、いくつかは生徒にとってはとても理解しづらいんだ。そういう時は意味を考えるよりもその時制が使われた状況を考えるといいんだ。僕が日本に住んでいた時はそうやって学んだし、レッスンを受けたことすらないのに、たくさんの人にとても上手に日本語をしゃべるねと言われたんだ。

San Francisco is part of “Silicon Valley”, which is the area of California that has many technology companies. “Silicon” is the material that computer chips are made of, and the area is a valley surrounded by mountains. Google, Apple, and Facebook are located here, but small new companies – known as “startups” – are created every day. Kaplan San Francisco is located right below Wikipedia!

Because technology is the biggest industry in San Francisco, there is a big demand for workers who know about computer programming. Recently, many computer programming “boot camps” have opened in the city. These camps promise to teach their students how to program computers in ten weeks. Most of the students are adults who want to change their career. At the end of ten weeks, students are placed at a company where they will receive a very high salary. The courses are very difficult, though. Many students “drop out”, which is another word for “quit.” Some people say that the technology industry is a “bubble”, which means that it will stop growing soon. For now, though, the technology industry is healthy and will continue for a long time.

When you come to Kaplan, you will receive an intense and challenging education in English, but there are many teachers and staff who will help you. Since Japanese and English are very different, the best way to learn is by copying what native speakers say. Instead of trying to understand the meanings of words and phrases, you should pay more attention to the situation where that word or phrase is used. The same is for grammar. English has many different tenses, and some tenses are very difficult for students to understand. It is better to think about the situation in which the tense is used, rather than its meaning. When I lived in Japan, this is how I learned, and many people told me I spoke Japanese very well – even though I’d never had a lesson!